Inside the main building of the Kamisato Estate.
A guard led Youying to a side room specially designated for receiving guests at the Kamisato Estate, then turned around and retraced his steps.
Youying gently pushed open the door and found Kamisato Ayato sitting at the desk.
"Greetings, Head of the Kamisato Clan."
"No need for such formalities. Since you are Ayaka's friend, why pay heed to these tedious conventions?" Ayato smiled faintly as he poured a cup of tea for Youying.
"Thank you," Youying said, taking a seat.
"Ayaka and Sayu have often mentioned Mr. Youying to me. Seeing you today, you truly live up to your reputation."
"Not at all, you flatter me too much, Head of the Kamisato Clan. I am merely an idle person who was fortunate enough to be taken in by Lady Guuji, and now I just handle some odd jobs at the Grand Narukami Shrine. I have long heard many people in Inazuma speak of the head of the Kamisato Clan, with everyone praising his intellect. Having the privilege to meet you today, I realize that what the townspeople say is no exaggeration."
"You make me sound ridiculous, Mr. Youying."
After a round of polite pleasantries, Ayato intended to steer the conversation toward business.
"I wonder what important matter Lady Guuji had in mind when she sent someone to find Ayaka? Ayaka had to go out on some business early this morning, so I am afraid I must ask you to wait a moment—or, if it is convenient, you can share it with me and I can pass the message along to Ayaka."
"Well... that's fine. Telling either of you should be the same."
With that, Youying explained to Ayato his and Yae Miko's plan, as well as the purpose of his visit.
"I see," Ayato murmured, rubbing his chin. "So the plan to take down Genius Invokation TCG was devised by Her Ladyship..."
"Are you reading off a script or something?"
"Never mind. Since these are such trivial matters, Ayaka and I naturally have no reason to refuse."
"Then I thank the Head of the Kamisato Clan on her behalf. Oh, right, and as for Sayu and Thoma..."
"That, of course, is no problem either." Though slightly surprised to hear Thoma's name drop from Youying's lips, Ayato did not raise any objections or press for further details.
"Since everything is settled, I shall take my leave. Lady Guuji has other matters for me to attend to elsewhere."
Having finalized the arrangements, Youying stood up and took his leave of Ayato.
Just as he was about to step out of the room, Youying seemed to suddenly recall something:
"Head of the Kamisato Clan, our meeting today was rather rushed, and we didn't have time to talk at length. I happen to know how to make a new type of beverage, and I am certain you would find it interesting. I will definitely look for you to discuss this business venture in detail next time."
Hearing this, Ayato paused for a fraction of a second, but then smiled and nodded: "Then I shall await your good news, Mr. Youying."
Naturally, Ayato did not take the remark seriously at the time, but that was a story for another day. Who could have foreseen that the "Kamisato Ice House" boba tea shops would one day cover the entirety of Teyvat?
After leaving the Kamisato Estate, Youying made his way back down to the foot of Mt. Yougou and took a carriage into Inazuma City.
Upon entering the city, Youying headed straight for the Naganohara Fireworks.
"Excuse me, is Naganohara Yoimiya in the shop right now?"
Standing before the entrance of Naganohara Fireworks, Youying intentionally raised his voice to address Naganohara Ryunosuke, who was basking in the sun outside the doorway.
"Oh my, where is this young man from? You're dressed quite dashingly!" Ryunosuke evidently still hadn't caught what Youying had said, and launched into his own train of thought. "Are you a customer here to buy fireworks? Finding your way all the way out here means you're a connoisseur who knows his stuff, haha!"
"..." Speechless, Youying had no choice but to pull out Yae Miko's amulet once again. "Lady Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine sent me here to discuss something with Naganohara Yoimiya. Might I ask if Miss Naganohara is currently in the shop?"
For reasons unknown, the somewhat hard-of-hearing Ryunosuke seemed to regain his hearing the moment he laid eyes on Yae Miko's amulet. His gaze suddenly cleared up, and even though Youying had spoken at a lower volume than before, Ryunosuke caught every word this time.
"Ah, Lady Guuji is looking for Yoimiya... Yoimiya just went out a moment ago to help this old man buy dinner. You can wait here for a little while."
"Understood," Youying nodded, then strolled casually around the shop, browsing the various fireworks while he waited for Yoimiya to return.
Roughly ten minutes later, a blonde-haired young woman walked toward the fireworks shop carrying two bags.
"Dad, I'm back! Oh, we have a guest?" Seeing Youying standing next to her father, Yoimiya quickly quickened her pace, hurried over to the shop entrance, and addressed Youying. "Hello, my name is Yoimiya, and I'm the owner of Naganohara Fireworks. Are you here to place an order for fireworks?"
"There are indeed a few matters I'd like to discuss with you at length, if you can spare a moment of your time," Youying said. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Youying, and I am here on behalf of Lady Guuji to consult with you on several matters."
"Lady Guuji actually sent someone to look for me...?" Yoimiya paused in surprise, then suddenly seemed to realize something. "Wait, did you say your name is Youying?"
"Indeed."
"Could you be that Mr. Youying who wrote *Battle Through Teyvat*?"
"Guilty as charged."
"Wow, I never expected to meet the author himself in a situation like this!" Yoimiya's eyes suddenly sparkled. "I absolutely love that novel! I finished reading the first volume the very day after it came out. That line about 'do not bully a young man into poverty' was so cool! I wonder when we'll get to see the second volume?"
"Uh... Miss Naganohara, regarding that..."
"Just call me Yoimiya."
"Right, Yoimiya, about the second volume..." Youying thought for a moment, then assumed a somewhat apologetic expression. "I'm afraid it's going to be quite a while."
"Oh, is that so?" Hearing this, Yoimiya looked somewhat disappointed.
"Lady Guuji and I have been planning a new card game recently, so most of our energy will be devoted to that for some time."
"A card game? Come to think of it, a card game has been extremely popular lately—what was it called again... Genius Invokation TCG?"
"Yes. Lately, Genius Invokation TCG has become so popular that even the business of the Yae Publishing House has been affected. That is why Lady Guuji hopes the publishing house can create a card game of its own to rival Genius Invokation TCG, and that is also the reason why I came to see you, Yoimiya."
"Eh? Is there anything I can help with regarding that? But I only know how to make fireworks..."
"Of course. The first thing we came to you for concerns fireworks. To put it simply, regarding the finale fireworks display at the festival at the end of the month, Lady Guuji hopes..."
After briefly outlining the plan he and Miko had discussed last night regarding the festival fireworks, Yoimiya nodded.
"No problem! I'll go adjust the schedule and placement of the fireworks according to Lady Guuji's requests in a moment."
"Thank you for your hard work, Yoimiya," Youying said gratefully. "There is also one small matter: we hope to feature your likeness in Seven Nations Kill, a game we will be launching soon, and we would like to obtain your permission."
"Oh? You're going to turn me into a card?" Hearing this, Yoimiya was slightly startled at first, but then readily agreed. "Of course, no problem at all! Besides... it feels like it would be a terribly strange and wonderful feeling to play as my own character card."
"Then thank you so much, Yoimiya." Youying stood up as he spoke. "Since it's getting late, I should head back to the Grand Narukami Shrine and report to Lady Guuji."
After bidding farewell to Yoimiya, Youying set off on his return journey.
"What a lively and enthusiastic young girl," Youying mused to himself after stepping out of the fireworks shop.
After all, holders of Pyro Visions seemed to pretty much all share that kind of personality—except for a certain red-headed crusader with a perpetually gloomy, grumpy cat face.
Youying had originally considered teasing Yoimiya by claiming Miko wanted to drag her off to become a shrine maiden, and even thought about dropping a line like:
"My dear girl, surely you wouldn't want anything bad to happen to your father, would you?"
Yet, looking into Yoimiya's eyes, Youying swallowed those thoughts right back down.
There was no helping it; he simply couldn't bring himself to pull that off.
Sweeping these stray thoughts from his mind, Youying stopped by Kiminami Restaurant to pick up dinner, bought a small bowl of fried tofu to bring back as a midnight snack for a certain pink-haired fox, and finally returned to the Grand Narukami Shrine.